


The Doll

by ThatTurtle



Series: Before TCW vignettes [2]
Category: Before the Clan Wars (Original Work), Original Work
Genre: (Well... He is a werewolf. It just doesn't really come up in this vignette.), Blood, Creepy, Dolls, ESP'er, Gen, Horror, Morbid, Psychics, Psychological Horror, Short Story, Surreal, Urban Fantasy, Vignette, Werewolf, creepy children, doll - Freeform, i need to practice writing horror, razor thread
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatTurtle/pseuds/ThatTurtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A psychic girl finds herself in a peculiar house.  Features characters from my story TCW but this can be read independently. It probably makes more sense if read as a stand-alone story, to be honest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Doll

Shiko wanders through the long, empty hallway. She barely notices the yellow wallpaper. She can’t quite remember why she is here, nor does she recall where “here" is.

She desperately searches for a way out. Haruki knows she shouldn’t be here. Every door she tries is locked. The hallway seems endless.

The ESP’er becomes more frantic. She grows increasingly aware of how difficult it is to breathe. She doesn’t think to question why.

At last she finds an unlocked door. She darts inside.

Her eyes take a moment to adjust to the dim light. She is greeted by the sight of a peculiar wooden cabinet. There is a glass window in the door, letting her glimpse at the contents of the cabinet.

A cadaver, no… upon further inspection it is a doll or mannequin of some sort, is stored in the case. It is male though it has somewhat soft features. The mannequin is dressed in a white collared shirt and black slacks.

It doesn’t take her long to notice he is eerily life like. He blankly stares back at her with glassy dark blue eyes. She can’t help but think that the doll looks sad. Its hair is the same color as its eyes and is a sharp contrast to such pale porcelain skin. For a male, he has rather long eyelashes. They flutter as he blinks.

Haruki’s eyes widen in fear and disbelief.

He slowly looks down at her. She sees something around his neck like a dog’s collar. Beneath it appears to be a scar.

"Hello." He greets her quietly. His voice sounds raspy and dry but his eyes seem kind.

"Hello." She answers hesitantly.

"Ah, you’re like her, aren’t you?" He murmurs, somewhat dazed. Shiko isn’t sure if he’s addressing her or simply thinking out loud. “You’re not a mundane."

"No… I’m an ESP’er." Haruki shakes her head.

The doll boy tilts his head curiously.

"How did you… Mm… Never mind." He shrugs. “I guess it’s of little consequence how you got here. You probably don’t even remember, no?"

She struggles to speak for a moment. “I don’t. Where is this place?"

"An innocent question, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you. It would make it far too easy to stumble across this place again. Worse, you may start looking for it." He gives a cryptic reply. 

"Alright, then I take it it wasn’t just paranoia that made me think I shouldn’t be here. Right?" She questions. 

"Yes… It’s only logical that you would be able to sense how wrong this place is…" He muses.

“Ma chére," His accent sounds surprisingly authentic given that there was no trace of it a moment ago.

"You need to leave. If you remain here for much longer, the one who stuck me in this cabinet may decide to make your stay permanent."

"This house may as well be a labyrinth." Shiko mutters darkly.

The doll sighs.

"I’m already going to be punished for speaking to you. Open the cabinet so I can help you find the way out of this place."

The brunette pauses briefly then reaches for the handle. He nods gratefully and gingerly steps down.

He grabs her arm firmly but not painfully so. He leads her to a door in the back of the room. As the peculiar man guides her down another disorienting vacant hallway, there is a loud creaking sound.

He swears under his breath.

"We don’t have much time."

The wallpaper seems to be deteriorating. She starts to notice pale, thin threads scattered about, hanging from the ceiling. Haruki wonders if they are spider webs or something more sinister.

Her companion seems to notice them as well. He carefully avoids touching them or getting closer to any than he must. The ESP’er wants to ask her guide what the threads are but decides she is probably better off not knowing. 

A faint sound reaches her ears. It sounds like a child, or a young woman, singing softly. The boy freezes and puts a finger to his lips.

The threads begin to sway. 

His grip on her arm tightens. He ducks and weaves through the webs. The man glances back at her. He pales.

"No matter what happens next, don’t stay." The boy murmurs. 

She looks at him curiously. 

Without warning, he opens the nearest door and pushes her through it.

He walks directly into the threads. 

An odd little girl runs down the hall. Her black dress looks very old fashioned. She wears a red bow in her hair. 

"Oh, good, I found you!" 

The boy says nothing. The color drains from his face. His pupils dilate. 

The child grabs the strands and yanks hard. He stumbles. He gets more tangled in the web as she drags him towards her. The threads are more like wires that cut into his pale skin and make him bleed. The man falls. 

"You’re just a doll. You really should know better by now…" The ethereal child giggles. The door slams shut. Shiko is dumbfounded. The brunette stumbles down a set of stairs before pitching forward.

She awakens to find herself on the edge of the woods on campus.

"What the hell?" Haruki wonders out loud.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I like giving the mortal characters emotional trauma and the anomaly emotional AND physical trauma. Also my first decent attempt at writing horror. Unfortunately, my writing skills seem to have gotten rusty. I need to remedy that. Originally posted on my tumblr and deviantART.  
> I don't know why I wrote it in present tense... I prefer past tense.
> 
> Shiko Haruki meets a peculiar man. This isn't the last time he'll appear.


End file.
